Hell, having Jacobs in the room is worse than having Bettman in the room. Fehr's brother is still in the room anyway (as is Daly), it's not really a big deal they get rid of Don to talk to six players, a couple of which will be hardliners anyway. They're not empowered to negotiate anything, this is just another stupid PR ploy.

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"The Devils have high standards, that's the difference. We have a standard to live up to every year, and a couple of teams in our area don't have the standards we do." - Pat Burns

The New Jersey Devils win Stanley Cups everywhere:-NHL record for most road wins in the playoffs - 10-1 in '95 and 10-2 in '00-NHL record for most home wins in the playoffs - 12-1 in '03

Hell, having Jacobs in the room is worse than having Bettman in the room. Fehr's brother is still in the room anyway (as is Daly), it's not really a big deal they get rid of Don to talk to six players, a couple of which will be hardliners anyway. They're not empowered to negotiate anything, this is just another stupid PR ploy.

. I'd like to think Daly and Steve Fehr being there without Don or Bettman could be a positive thing, seeing as how the two of them have actually seemed to have some constructive conversation with each other during the process. But you're probably right about it being another bullsh!t PR stunt, this is the NHL we're talking about here. I've come to always expect the worst with these dipsh!ts.

If you're saying that it's in the PA's best interests to make the NHL move first, well yeah. It's always better in a negotiation to be the side that's holding to what it wants and not be the side that's moving towards the other's demands. But that doesn't have much to do with reaching an agreement. Making the deal is simply about feeling like you are better off making it than not making it (obvious statement is obvious). I think that we've already passed the point where one side should be thinking, "Sure, the deal we could make right now is acceptable, but if we hold out longer we can really screw the other side!" Each side, I think, has shown that it is not willing to just be demolished in this negotiation, so if we're not moving on, then at least one side must be feeling that the doable deal right now really is worse than continuing to cancel this season's games. So then the question is why does that side feel that way.

I don't disagree with any of this, but it works both ways. Both sides have passed the point where, at least to save this season, neither side is really going to 'cave' fully. Still, they've already lost so much, so how can they justify losing that if they don't get something out of it? What's the point of going this long for the owners without breaking the players? And what's the point of the players taking the deal the owners offered them 6 weeks ago, having already lost 3 more paychecks?

For there to be a compromise now, the NHL has to give something up. I think the players are more than open to making a deal, but they can't be seen as losing the negotiation outright. And that's the kind of thing you can do when your union averages $2 million a season.

Or do you disagree? You think that League still believes it can tighten the screws on the players to get more out of them than in an acceptable deal that's available right now?

I definitely think it's part of the league's end game to force the PA to overthrow Fehr and to accept far worse terms than they did in 2005, but I don't think that's their central strategy, because that means losing at least a season.

A deal to save the #NHL and sign a new #CBA could be announced at any time from right now and up until any point in the future

Look, I'm an insider!

Looks like we finally found Incarcerated Bob!

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